U.S. Coal-to-Liquid Plant Nixed, While China Bankrolls New Coal

What can I say?The world is blaming China for its CO2 emission,the no better U.S. is dumping its money to aggregate the disaster-in-making.It's like we know we are bad,but we want you(China)to be worse than us...

Written by Craig Rubens

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Posted October 24th, 2008 at 8:17 am in Big Green

As we’ve been mapping the shuttering of coal-powered projects here in the U.S., China has been opening, on average, 1.5 GW of coal power plants a week. Yesterday, we noticed a link: An $800 million coal-to-liquids plant planned for West Virginia was nixed due to a lack of available capital (hat tip GreenWire). The plant, which was a joint effort between mining giant Consol Energy and the gasification company Synthesis Energy Systems, was to produce about 100 million gallons of 87-octane gasoline from coal a year. (We’ve added the dead coal-to-fluid plant to our Coal Death Watch map with a new purple pin.)

View Larger Map

So what’s a coal project developer to do? Head to China, apparently. The same day that SES shut down the U.S. project, the Houston-based company announced a new joint venture in China with the YIMA Coal Group. The coal gasification plant, to be located in China’s Henan Province, will cost an estimated $350 million and be financed by Chinese banks. Increasingly, Chinese banks are slashing interest rates in order to attract more foreign investment, so we can likely expect more big energy projects to open up across the Pacific.

http://earth2tech.com/2008/10/24/us-coal-to-liquid-plant-nixed-while-china-bankrolls-new-coal/

Google Sponsoring U.S.-Chinese Power Grid Study

Craig Rubens

Posted October 21st, 2008 at 8:04 am in Big Green,Energy

Google.org continues to dole out the dough, on Monday awarding a $250,000 grant to the U.S. National Academies for a cooperative U.S.-Chinese study on renewable electricity. The 18-month transnational study has three goals:

• Assess the potential of utility-scale renewable energy in China and the U.S.
• Explore near-term market opportunities for mature technologies
• Recommend energy priorities with a focus on grid connectivity and storage

Getting the world’s two largest energy markets to collaborate on renewable energy makes a lot of business sense for the fast-growing cleantech investor. Google.org is a for-profit charity organization which has more than $100 million invested with its biggest plays in clean energy. Sure, we like that the study could help reduce the emissions of the world’s two largest polluters, but we also like that its part of an investment strategy seeking both economical and ecological returns.

While Google has grabbed headlines with its $4.4 trillion energy plan to kick America’s fossil fuel habit, that massive sum will have to be doled out in far smaller batches to tease out the innovative energy ideas that will power our future. I think we all know how Sergei and Larry would answer the question Tom Brokaw posed at the presidential debate: “Should we fund a Manhattan-like project that develops a nuclear bomb to deal with global energy and alternative energy or should we fund 100,000 garages across America, the kind of industry and innovation that developed Silicon Valley?”

http://earth2tech.com/2008/10/21/google-sponsoring-us-chinese-power-grid-study/

Mirrors Up at New California Solar Thermal Power Plant

Mirrors Up at New California Solar Thermal Power Plant

BAKERSFIELD, California, October 23, 2008 (Environment News Service,
ENS) - Turning a long line of mirrors to catch the California sunshine, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today fired up the first solar thermal power plant built in California in nearly 20 years.

The new Kimberlina concentrating solar thermal power plant in Bakersfield was built by Ausra Inc., a large-scale solar thermal energy developer and manufacturer based in Palo Alto.

"This next generation solar power plant is further evidence that reliable, renewable and pollution-free technology is here to stay, and it will lead to more California homes and businesses powered by sunshine," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "Not only will this large-scale solar facility generate power to help us meet our renewable energy goals, it will also generate new jobs as California continues to pioneer the clean-tech industry."

Two years ago California passed a requiring a rollback in greenhouse gases to the 1990 level by the year 2020, an emissions reduction of 25 percent. The governor said the Kimberlina solar thermal power plant brings the state closer to achieving this goal.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tours the Ausra Kimberlina Solar Energy Facility with Ausra Chief Executive Officer Bob Fishman. (Photo by Duncan McIntosh courtesy Office of the Governor)

The first solar plant in the country to utilize Ausra's technology, at full output, the Kimberlina solar plant will generate five megawatts of electricity, enough to power 3,500 homes in central California.

Unlike photovoltaic solar panels, which convert the light from the Sun into electricity and are often mounted on rooftops, solar thermal facilities use large fields of mirrors to concentrate and capture the Sun's heat, converting it into useful forms of energy.

Solar concentrators boil water with focused sunlight, generating high-pressure steam that drives large conventional turbine generators. The process produces clean, reliable electricity and high-temperature steam for industrial applications.

Low-cost thermal energy storage systems now under development by Ausra will allow solar electric power to be generated on demand, day and night.

Ausra's core technology, the Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector solar collector and steam generation system, was originally conceived in the early 1990s at Sydney University. It was first commercialized by Solar Heat and Power Pty Ltd. in 2004 in Australia and is now being refined and built at large scale by Ausra around the world.

"Behind these striking, 1,000 foot long mirrors is a design philosophy that uses an elegant simplicity to lower costs and accelerate our ability to deliver at large scale and on schedule, making solar power much more of a player in our collective energy future," said Robert Morgan, executive vice-president and chief development officer for Ausra.

"Kimberlina represents more than an industry milestone," said Ausra President, CEO and Chairman Bob Fishman. "It represents the best of American and Australian ingenuity and get-it-done attitude. I'm particularly proud of all the Ausra employees who designed and built this plant safely in five months, with zero loss-time accidents and entirely with private capital."

At the launch event, Pacific Gas & Electric chief executive Peter Darbee warned that the current financial crisis might divert attention from the climate change crisis and pledged that his company would not abandon its efforts to curb global warming.

"We cannot do that," said Darbee. "Climate change is a very, very serious problem. Unquestionably, we have to deal with the problems of the capital markets, the real estate market, the deficits and economic problems that we're all going to face during the next two years. But we cannot afford to take our eye off of the ball, the ball which is described by many as the greatest challenge mankind has ever faced."

...

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2008/2008-10-23-092.asp

Art is a way!--$10,000 Prize for Best Carbon Cap Explanation

I increasingly feel that art in all sorts of forms is really way to raise the general public's awareness of our environmental issues and what the alternatives are.

Environment | September 29, 2008 | by Thursday Bram

$10,000 Prize for Best Carbon Cap Explanation

The Environmental Defense Fund is offering $10,000 to anyone who can create a video or visual explanation of carbon caps. The explanation must make it clear to the American public exactly what a carbon cap is, and what its benefits are. The prize is being offered through the EDF's lobbying arm, the Environmental Defense Action Fund.

There's little question that the concept of carbon caps isn't well understood by most people. The interesting part of the EDF's approach is a request for contestants to avoid getting into a discussion of global warming or partisan politics — the two ways in the carbon cap discussion is usually framed.

While it isn't clear how the EDF plans to use the winning submission, the competition does seem like a good idea in general. If the EDF can find a simple way of explaining carbon caps to the public, it may have more success lobbying for relevant legislation. Furthermore, the contest specifically requires a new media solution: a YouTube video, a Flickr image or an otherwise online submission. That improves the chances of the EDF finding a winner being able to connect with a relevant, interested audience.

Submissions are due by Nov. 21, through the EDF website. The winner will be announced in December.

Image — EDF

http://www.matternetwork.com/2008/9/10000-prize-best-carbon-cap.cfm

Sunny Forecast for GC Jobs in Clean-Tech Industry

Sunny Forecast for GC Jobs in Clean-Tech Industry

http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1202424539325

Zusha Elinson

The Recorder
September 16, 2008

As the hot, young clean-tech industry matures, companies are hiring and searching for general counsel that have the hard-to-come-by blend of energy business and startup lawyer skills.

"Many are doing searches right now," said Mitchell Zuklie, a corporate lawyer with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Menlo Park, Calif., who represents clean-tech companies. "There's a very high demand because it's hard to find someone with the right mix of experience."

In recent weeks, two solar companies landed their first general counsel. Ausra Inc., in Palo Alto, Calif., hired energy-industry veteran Debra Olson. Foster City, Calif.'s SolarCity hired Seth Weissman, a former software company general counsel. Ausra makes plants that use solar thermal technology, using sunlight to turn water into steam that drives turbine generators. SolarCity installs rooftop solar cells.

"We are all migrating toward this -- it's a phenomenal opportunity; it's a tremendous career," said Olson, who previously worked at Calpine and a wind-energy company.

Alternative-energy companies are getting to the point where they are looking to go public or where legal costs can be cut by hiring a general counsel.

"At a certain stage of a startup company's existence, it makes sense to bring in house some activities that were outsourced before," explained Charles Ferer, SolarCity's CFO.

This is especially true for clean-tech companies, where tons of contracts are generated by big energy projects, said Robert O'Connor, a Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati lawyer.

"Frankly, it is not surprising that when you consider the business models of these companies -- many of which are developing power projects," O'Connor said. "One has to take into account that 'project' is really a simple way to say 'a bundle of contracts.'"

SOLAR ATTRACTION

It's not just the money that's attracting lawyers to work for clean-tech companies -- it's also a chance to actually do something good.

That was a big draw for Weissman, a former Wilson Sonsini associate who left his most recent post at Coremetrics to join SolarCity earlier this month.

"To be in a capitalist organization and also get a chance to make a difference -- that never happens!" Weissman said.

Martha Africa, a recruiter with Major, Lindsey & Africa, is handling a general counsel search for Better Place, the Shai Agassi brainchild that's building electric car power grids. Africa said she's gotten stacks of resumes.

"It's not even the money play as much as the idea that they can make a living and use their skills to be part of the solution," Africa said. "It's really a heartfelt conviction to help."

Salaries for clean-tech GCs aren't higher than the market in general, but like with any burgeoning young industry, it's all about the stock options. A New Hampshire solar company, GT Solar Inc., that went public this summer is paying its GC, Edwin Lewis, $230,000 in salary. But it also gave him hundreds of thousands of stock options that would net $1.2 million if he cashed them in today, even though the stock hasn't gone through the roof.

Neither SolarCity nor Ausra, which are both private, would give exact compensation figures for their new GCs.

"We paid below market on salary, but it's really in the equity," said SolarCity CFO Ferer.

ENERGY OR CORPORATE?

With the lure of lucrative stock options and doing something good, renewable-energy companies haven't had a hard time getting people to apply for the job; it's just hard to find someone who actually has experience in the field.

"Clearly there's a shortage in the marketplace of senior management with renewable-energy experience, so you go one of two ways," Wilson's O'Connor said: hire an energy attorney or a startup-company lawyer.

Ausra took the energy route with Olson, who worked as assistant general counsel at energy company Calpine and then Danish wind-energy company Vestas. Earlier in her career, she was an environmental lawyer with Bogle & Gates.

Olson said that her experience with energy contracts, permits for new projects, and dealing with government regulators will help her at Ausra, since it builds solar thermal power plants.

Olson expects that the legal issues will be complex because of the new technology. But she also anticipates that legal challenges to getting permits for new plants will be much easier than for a traditional power company.

"Communities like to be seen as supporting renewable-energy solutions," she explained.

At SolarCity, CFO Ferer said that because his company doesn't have to deal with regulatory agencies, it was more desirable to find someone with a general corporate background like Weissman.

OUTSIDE HELP

Just as lawyers are looking to get into the clean-tech field, so are the outside law firms. And with all the pitching going on, new general counsel have to make sure they don't swing and miss.

"They all have very nice brochures," Olson said. "I've seen them."

Ausra uses Wilson Sonsini for its corporate work, Morrison & Foerster for intellectual property and Winston & Strawn for commercial work.

SolarCity was using a number of law firms before Weissman came on. Now, he's pared it down to just a few: his old firm, Wilson Sonsini, for corporate work, and Thelen for leasing and energy.

Neither Weissman nor Olson have solar panels on their house, but that's no surprise: Olson is moving from rainy Portland and has yet to buy a house here, and Weissman lives in foggy Pacifica, Calif.

First Cellulosic Ethanol Biorefinery in the U.S. Opens

First Cellulosic Ethanol Biorefinery in the U.S. Opens : TreeHugger

by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 06. 4.08

Science & Technology

Buzz up!

First Cellulosic Ethanol Plant in the US
The first demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in the United States is now open! The verenium biorefinery in Jennings, Louisiana, will produce 1.4 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year with agricultural waste left over after sugarcane production.

What are Second Generation Biofuels?
Ethanol made from cellulose, as opposed to ethanol made from corn, is a second generation biofuel. The difference, and it's an important one, is that second generation biofuels use non-food residual biomass like the stems, leaves, wood chips, and husks, or they use non-food crops that can be grown without high energy inputs, like switchgrass.

Verenium's Cellulosic Ethanol Goals
Verenium wants to create cellulosic ethanol at $2 per gallon, which right now would make it fairly competitive with corn ethanol and regular gasoline.

But this demonstration plant is just the beginning: Next year, Verenium wants to built several commercial plants that would each produce 20 to 30 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol yearly. That's still a fairly small drop in the bucket of gasoline consumption, but it would be much better than corn ethanol, and certainly better than fossil fuels.

Cellulosic Ethanol Feedstock and Process

Verenium will use a combination of acid pretreatments, enzymes, and two types of bacteria to make ethanol from the plant matter--called bagasse--that's left over from processing sugarcane to make sugar.

It will also process a relative of the sugar cane called the energy cane. It produces less sugar, but more fiber and grows taller, increasing yield.

What to do with Corn Ethanol?
One question that remains is: What do we do with all that corn ethanol?

The best hope would be to convert corn ethanol biorefineries into second generation biofuel plants. That might or might not be possible on a technical level, but we suspect that on a political level it will be even harder. The farm lobby is very good at keeping subsidies forever. When food prices are low, they ask for subsidies, when prices are high (as now), they ask for more. So who knows if the fat corn ethanol subsidies will ever be repelled?

Ethanol
Green Basics: Ethanol
Cellulosic Ethanol in Japan: BioEthanol & Celunol
Iogen's Cellulose Ethanol - Straw-Powered Cars

Biodiesel
Green Basics: Biodiesel
Solazyme B100 Algae Biodiesel Goes on the Road
i-Spec Q-100: A Biodiesel Analyzer in Your Pocket

More on Verenium Cellulosic Ethanol Plant
Verenium Begins Commissioning of Nation's First Cellulosic Ethanol Demonstration-Scale Plant
Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Opens
CELLULOSIC ETHANOL: FUELING THE FUTURE

Hemp - Could Save America

I just got an email from www.Hempology.org, one of the sources of the article,hoping that I could add the website on.Kind of my bad too.So just spread the word and keep on fighting.That's the future!

http://www.rense.com/1.imagesF/hemp.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.rense.com/general49/could.htm&h=311&w=323&sz=11&hl=en&start=6&sig2=mMsaVF5_d6BJRr74dT6u8g&um=1&usg=__3vdBQ2DLrTNY_sZhKYbWHJcRUWg=&tbnid=g99NnhzKFezGZM:&tbnh=114&tbnw=118&ei=96HCSNC3EI2AecmgyfsH&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhemp%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

Hemp - Could Save America
The Weed That Can Change The World
From Varied Sources
2-25-4

HEMP FACTS

1) Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a bit of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC.

2) Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic. The federal government subsidized hemp during the Second World War and US farmers grew about a million acres of hemp as part of that program.

3) Hemp Seed is far more nutritious than even soybean, contains more essential fatty acids than any other source, is second only to soybeans in complete protein (but is more digestible by humans), is high in B-vitamins, and is 35% dietary fiber. Hemp seed is not psychoactive and cannot be used as a drug. See TestPledge.com

4) The bark of the hemp stalk contains bast fibers which are among the Earth's longest natural soft fibers and are also rich in cellulose; the cellulose and hemi-cellulose in its inner woody core are called hurds. Hemp stalk is not psychoactive. Hemp fiber is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cotton fiber.

5) According to the Department of Energy, hemp as a biomass fuel producer requires the least specialized growing and processing procedures of all hemp products. The hydrocarbons in hemp can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from fuel pellets to liquid fuels and gas. Development of biofuels could significantly reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

6) Hemp grows well without herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides. Almost half of the agricultural chemicals used on US crops are applied to cotton.

7) Hemp produces more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable basis, and can be used for every quality of paper. Hemp paper manufacturing can reduce wastewater contamination. Hemp's low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and it's creamy color lends itself to environmentally friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxin and fewer chemical byproducts.

8) Hemp fiber paper resists decomposition, and does not yellow with age when an acid-free process is used. Hemp paper more than 1,500 years old has been found. It can also be recycled more times.

9) Hemp fiberboard produced by Washington State University was found to be twice as strong as wood-based fiberboard.

10) Eco-friendly hemp can replace most toxic petrochemical products. Research is being done to use hemp in manufacturing biodegradable plastic products: plant-based cellophane, recycled plastic mixed with hemp for injection-molded products, and resins made from the oil, to name just a very few examples.

Hemp History

Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a bit of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC.

Presidents Washington and Jefferson both grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during the Colonial Era and Early Republic.

In 1937 Congress passed the Marihuana Tax Act which effectively began the era of hemp prohibition. The tax and licensing regulations of the act made hemp cultivation unfeasable for American farmers. The chief promoter of the Tax Act, Harry Anslinger, began promoting anti-marijuana legislation around the world. To learn more about hemp prohibition visit http://www.JackHerer.com or check out "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer

Then came World War II. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor shut off foreign supplies of "manilla hemp" fiber from the Phillipines. The USDA produced a film called Hemp For Victory to encourage US farmers to grow hemp for the war effort. The US government formed War Hemp Industries and subsidized hemp cultivation. During the War and US farmers grew about a million acres of hemp across the midwest as part of that program.

After the war ended, the government quietly shut down all the hemp processing plants and the industry faded away again.

During the period from 1937 to the late 60's the US government understood and acknowledged that Industrial Hemp and marijuana were distinct varieties of the cannabis plant. Hemp is no longer recognized as distinct from marijuana since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970. This is despite the fact that a specific exemption for hemp was included in the CSA under the definition of marijuana.

The United States government has published numerous reports and other documents on hemp dating back to the beginnings of our country. Below is a list of some of the documents that have been discovered:

* 1797: SECRETARY OF WAR: U.S.S. CONSTITUTION'S HEMP

* 1810: JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - RUSSIAN HEMP CULTIVATION

* 1827: U.S. NAVY COMMISSIONER - WATER-ROTTED HEMP

* 1873: HEMP CULTURE IN JAPAN

* 1895: USDA - HEMP SEED

* 1899: USDA SECRETARY - HEMP

* 1901: USDA LYSTER DEWEY RE; HEMP & FLAX SEED

* 1901: USDA LYSTER DEWEY 13 PAGE ARTICLE ON HEMP

* 1903: USDA LYSTER DEWEY RE; PRINCIPAL COMMERCIAL PLANT FIBERS

* 1909: USDA SECRETARY - FIBER INVESTIGATIONS: HEMP/FLAX

* 1913: USDA LYSTER DEWEY - HEMP SOILS, YIELD, ECONOMICS

* 1913: USDA LYSTER DEWEY - TESTS FOR HEMP, LIST OF PRODUCTS

* 1916: USDA BULLETIN 404 - HEMP HURDS AS A PAPER MAKING MATERIAL

* 1917: USDA - HEMP SEED SUPPLY OF THE NATION

* 1917: USDA - CANNABIS

* 1927: USDA LYSTER DEWEY RE; HEMP VARIETIES

* 1931: USDA LYSTER DEWEY RE; HEMP FIBER LOSING GROUND

* 1943: USDA - HEMP FOR VICTORY - DOCUMENTARY FILM

* 1947: USDA - HEMP DAY LENGTH & FLOWERING

* 1956: USDA - MONOECIOUS HEMP BREEDING IN THE U.S.

These documentes and many more are published online by USA hemp historian extraordinaire, John E. Dvorak. His Digital Hemp History Library is the most complete source for historical hemp documents and data anwhere. To visit the Library click here.

You can also check out literary references to Industrial Hemp from Aesop's Fables to the present: http://www.ofields.com/OFIELDS_HEMP_HISTORY.html

http://www.thehia.org/hempfacts.htm

Comment

From Karma Blank
2-27-4

Thank you so much for this page on the wonders of hemp! When I was in high school and almost everyone I knew started smoking pot, I began reading up on the subject. I wanted to know what this mysterious plant was all about before I tried it. I was amazed by the suppressed history I uncovered. Not only has cannabis been smoked/eaten for millenia for spiritual & recreational purposes, the fiber it produces has been right there all along. This truly is a wonder plant, and I'm glad to see Rense.com spreading the word. People need to know about this plant and the real reason it's illegal.


Comment
From Alton Raines
2-27-4

I really appreciate this consolidated information which we can all take and shove in the face of all these "hannitized" pro-drugwar idiots who live in feigned fear of the dreaded "devil weed." This is an arsenal of powerful information about hemp which can and should be used by every thinking person against the idiots -- print this out, fold it up, keep it with you and when you hear someone bemoaning our economic situation, whip it out and show them that there IS an answer; when someone is prattling on about the dying agriculture economy in America, shove this in their face. It's a matter of EDUCATION. A little here, a little there. People have GOT to overcome the propagandized fear of the hemp plant. It's not the devil's weed, it's a magnificent gift of God, who said to man "And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat (use, consumption)." Genesis 1:29. He has given us EVERY herb and seed bearing plant and tree. Not just some. And no government has a right a outlaw any one of them!

the magic HEMP

The Hemp Plant
The hemp plant is harvested for its fibers, seed, seed meal and seed oil.
Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa L. Due to the similar leaf shape, hemp is frequently confused with marijuana. Although both plants are from the species cannabis, hemp contains virtually no THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in marijuana.
Hemp cannot be used as a drug because it produces virtually no THC
(less than 1%), where marijuana produces between 5 - 20 % THC.
Hemp Agronomic Characteristics
Hemp is a bast fiber plant similar to flax, kenaf, jute and ramie. Long slender primary fibers on the outer portion of the stalk characterize bast fiber plants. An annual plant that grows from seed, hemp can be grown on a range of soils, but tends to grow best on land that produces high yields of corn. The soil must be well drained, rich in nitrogen, and non-acidic. Hemp requires limited pesticides because is grows so quickly and attracts few pests. In northern latitudes, hemp is usually planted between early March and late May. Hemp averages between 2 - 4 meters in height in about four months of growth.

Hemp crops are harvested at different times for different hemp products.

• Harvesting stalks for high quality primary fiber occurs as soon as the crop is in flower.
• Harvesting for seed production and stalks occurs 4 - 6 weeks after flowering, when male plants begin to shed pollen.

HISTORY FACTS

*Hemp has been grown for at least the last 12,000 years for fiber (textiles and paper) and food. It has been effectively prohibited in the United States since the 1950s.

*George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp. Ben Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper.

*When US sources of "Manila hemp" (not true hemp) was cut off by the Japanese in WWII, the US Army and US Department of Agriculture promoted the "Hemp for Victory" campaign to grow hemp in the US.

*Because of its importance for sails (the word "canvass" is rooted in "cannabis") and rope for ships, hemp was a required crop in the American colonies.

INDUSTRY FACTS

*Henry Ford experimented with hemp to build car bodies. He wanted to build and fuel cars from farm products.

*BMW is experimenting with hemp materials in automobiles as part of an effort to make cars more recyclable.

*Much of the bird seed sold in the US has hemp seed (it's sterilized before importation), the hulls of which contain about 25% protein.

*Hemp oil once greased machines. Most paints, resins, shellacs, and varnishes used to be made out of linseed (from flax) and hemp oils.

*Rudolph Diesel designed his engine to run on hemp oil.

*Kimberly Clark (on the Fortune 500) has a mill in France which produces hemp paper preferred for bibles because it lasts a very long time and doesn't yellow.

*Construction products such as medium density fiber board, oriented strand board, and even beams, studs and posts could be made out of hemp. Because of hemp's long fibers, the products will be stronger and/or lighter than those made from wood.

*The products that can be made from hemp number over 25,000.

SCIENTIFIC FACTS

*Industrial hemp and marijuana are both classified by taxonomists as Cannabis sativa, a species with hundreds of varieties. C. sativa is a member of the mulberry family. Industrial hemp is bred to maximize fiber, seed and/or oil, while marijuana varieties seek to maximize THC (delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana).

*While industrial hemp and marijuana may look somewhat alike to an untrained eye, an easily trained eye can easily distinguish the difference.

*Industrial hemp has a THC content of between 0.05 and 1%. Marijuana has a THC content of 3% to 20%. To receive a standard psychoactive dose would require a person to power-smoke 10-12 hemp cigarettes over an extremely short period of time. The large volume and high temperature of vapor, gas and smoke would be almost impossible for a person to withstand.

*If hemp does pollinate any nearby marijuana, genetically, the result will always be lower-THC marijuana, not higher-THC hemp. If hemp is grown outdoors, marijuana will not be grown close by to avoid producing lower-grade marijuana.

*Hemp fibers are longer, stronger, more absorbent and more mildew-resistant than cotton.

*Fabrics made of at least one-half hemp block the sun's UV rays more effectively than other fabrics.

*Many of the varieties of hemp that were grown in North America have been lost. Seed banks weren't maintained. New genetic breeding will be necessary using both foreign and domestic "ditchweed," strains of hemp that went feral after cultivation ended. Various state national guard units often spend their weekends trying to eradicate this hemp, in the mistaken belief they are helping stop drug use.

*A 1938 Popular Mechanics described hemp as a "New Billion Dollar Crop." That's back when a billion was real money.

*Hemp can be made in to a variety of fabrics, including linen quality.

LEGAL FACTS

*The US Drug Enforcement Agency classifies all C. sativa varieties as "marijuana." While it is theoretically possible to get permission from the government to grow hemp, DEA would require that the field be secured by fence, razor wire, dogs, guards, and lights, making it cost-prohibitive.

*The US State Department must certify each year that a foreign nation is cooperating in the war on drugs. The European Union subsidizes its farmers to grow industrial hemp. Those nations are not on this list, because the State Department can tell the difference between hemp and marijuana.

*Hemp was grown commercially (with increasing governmental interference) in the United States until the 1950s. It was doomed by the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which placed an extremely high tax on marijuana and made it effectively impossible to grow industrial hemp. While Congress expressly expected the continued production of industrial hemp, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics lumped industrial hemp with marijuana, as it's successor the US Drug Enforcement Administration, does to this day.

*Over 30 industrialized democracies do distinguish hemp from marijuana. International treaties regarding marijuana make an exception for industrial hemp.

*Canada now again allows the growing of hemp.

ECOLOGY FACTS

* Hemp growers can not hide marijuana plants in their fields. Marijuana is grown widely spaced to maximize leaves. Hemp is grown in tightly-spaced rows to maximize stalk and is usually harvested before it goes to seed.

*Hemp can be made into fine quality paper. The long fibers in hemp allow such paper to be recycled several times more than wood-based paper.

*Because of its low lignin content, hemp can be pulped using less chemicals than with wood. Its natural brightness can obviate the need to use chlorine bleach, which means no extremely toxic dioxin being dumped into streams. A kinder and gentler chemistry using hydrogen peroxide rather than chlorine dixoide is possible with hemp fibers.

*Hemp grows well in a variety of climates and soil types. It is naturally resistant to most pests, precluding the need for pesticides. It grows tightly spaced, out-competing any weeds, so herbicides are not necessary. It also leaves a weed-free field for a following crop.

*Hemp can displace cotton which is usually grown with massive amounts of chemicals harmful to people and the environment. 50% of all the world's pesticides are sprayed on cotton.

*Hemp can displace wood fiber and save forests for watershed, wildlife habitat, recreation and oxygen production, carbon sequestration (reduces global warming), and other values.

*Hemp can yield 3-8 dry tons of fiber per acre. This is four times what an average forest can yield.

HEALTH FACTS

*If one tried to ingest enough industrial hemp to get 'a buzz', it would be the equivalent of taking 2-3 doses of a high-fiber laxative.

*At a volume level of 81%, hemp oil is the richest known source of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids (the "good" fats). It's quite high in some essential amino acids, including gamma linoleic acid (GLA), a very rare nutrient also found in mother's milk.

*While the original "gruel" was made of hemp seed meal, hemp oil and seed can be made into tasty and nutritional products.

source:http://naihc.org/hemp_information/reports.html

Le voyage commence ici!